Paychex, Inc. (PAYX) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Paychex, Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and twelve have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.77.

A number of research firms have issued reports on PAYX. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Paychex from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Bank of America downgraded shares of Paychex from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $73.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, January 9th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Paychex from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, January 24th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sell” rating and set a $57.00 target price on shares of Paychex in a research report on Wednesday, November 15th.

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Shares of Paychex (PAYX) traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $64.63. 1,562,000 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,452,951. Paychex has a 12-month low of $54.20 and a 12-month high of $73.10. The company has a market cap of $23,235.71, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.94.

Paychex (NASDAQ:PAYX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, December 21st. The business services provider reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59. Paychex had a net margin of 26.02% and a return on equity of 42.80%. The firm had revenue of $826.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $823.48 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. analysts predict that Paychex will post 2.39 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 1st will be given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 31st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.09%. Paychex’s dividend payout ratio is 85.84%.

In other Paychex news, insider Michael E. Gioja sold 34,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.91, for a total transaction of $2,364,371.01. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,367,102.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Jennifer R. Vossler sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.29, for a total transaction of $682,900.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 31,578 shares in the company, valued at $2,156,461.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 11.70% of the company’s stock.

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PAYX. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Paychex by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 984,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,041,000 after buying an additional 9,132 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $872,000. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in Paychex by 31.2% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 117,056 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,664,000 after buying an additional 27,820 shares during the period. Navellier & Associates Inc grew its stake in shares of Paychex by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc now owns 24,636 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intl Fcstone Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paychex during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,335,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.98% of the company’s stock.

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About Paychex

Paychex, Inc is a provider of integrated human capital management (HCM) solutions for payroll, human resource (HR), retirement and insurance services for small- to medium-sized businesses in the United States. The Company also has operations in Germany. The Company offers services, including Payroll processing, Human Resource Services, and Accounting and Financial Services.